University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Recruit Royce White Named Mr. Basketball
4/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
University of Minnesota men’s basketball recruit Royce White was recently announced as the State of Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball for the 2008-09 season. White, a senior at Hopkins High School, will join 2007 Minnesota Mr. Basketball Blake Hoffarber and 2005 Minnesota Mr. Basketball Travis Busch on the Gophers’ roster next season.
White led the Hopkins High School Royals to the Class 4A State Title and a perfect 31-0 season in 2008-09 while averaging a team-high 15.8 points per game. As a junior, White was a member of Team USA at the Nike Global Challenge and also participated in the Vince Carter Skills Academy. Much more of the same is scheduled this spring and summer as he is scheduled to take part in the Jordan Brand Classic at New Your City’s Madison Square Garden on April 18. Also, White was named First Team All-State by the Associated Press as well as First Team All-Metro.
The Gophers wrapped up the 2008-09 with a loss to the University of Texas on Mar. 19 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This was the first NCAA Tournament appearance for the Gophers since 2005 and the 15th overall appearance for a Tubby Smith-led team.
The Gophers finished 22-11 on the season, the 16th-straight season a Tubby Smith-led team reached the 20-win plateau. It is the longest active streak in the nation and the third-longest streak in NCAA history. Minnesota reached 20 total wins for just the ninth time in school history while Minnesota’s 21 regular season wins is the second-most in school history behind the 24 victories in 1976-77.
